Radius Gold & Fortuna Silver: Is Marriage in the Offing?

Hallgarten & Company equities strategist Christopher Ecclestone Tuesday suggested love may be in the air for junior explorer Radius Gold (TSX-V: RDU) with cashed-up Peruvian (soon to be Mexican also) miner Fortuna Silver (TSX-V: FVI) as the potential suitor.

In his analysis, Ecclestone noted that Simon Ridgeway is the common thread between the two companies. Mining financier Ridgeway is the chairman of Fortuna and the president of Radius of which he is the largest shareholder.

‘The nexus between the two groups is obvious in the shared directors and the overlapping spheres of operation, Ecclestone said. Most of the benefit goes to Radius though, as Fortuna's cash dispels any fears for the longer-term survival of Radius.

Ecclestone asserted that the transaction would fill in the gap between Fortuna's Peruvian and Mexican operations by adding exposure in Ecuador, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

The chief thing that Fortuna gets is a leg up to looking like a pan-Latin producer, he advised. Meanwhile, Fortuna is picking up all the various plays at Radius for little more than the pennies rolling around in the bottom of Fortuna's drawer.

Fortuna buying Radius would be yet one more example of bigger companies bringing the sheep back into the fold, a reversal of the proliferation of vehicles that occurred during the boom years, Ecclestone said.

Anything that makes Fortuna look more dynamic and (logically) diversified must be a good thing, he concluded.